The Henry and Stark County Health Departments note that one of three Americanadults has high blood pressure, also called hypertension. That's 67 millionpeople who have to work to keep their blood pressure in check each day.Unfortunately, more that half of people with high blood pressure do not havetheir condition under control. RaeAnn Tucker-Marshall, Health Department Director of Public Informationnotes, "Many may be surprised if your healthcare professional says you havehigh blood pressure, because it produces no obvious symptoms and can occurin an otherwise healthy person. Although we do not yet know how to preventhigh blood pressure, there are simple ways to control the condition bybringing blood pressure readings down to safe levels." First off, what is high blood pressure actually? Well, as blood flowsfrom the heart of to the blood vessels, it creates pressure against theblood vessel walls. Your blood pressure reading is a way of measuring thispressure and it tells you if the pressure is normal, high, or low. Anothername for high blood pressure is hypertension. Blood pressure readings are given in two numbers, such as 120/80.Although the average blood pressure reading for adults is 120/80, a slightlyhigher or lower reading (for either number) is not necessarily abnormal orunsafe. The blood pressure test is painless and takes only a few minutes. Thehealth professional should take several readings on different days beforedeciding if your blood pressure is too high. All of these steps arenecessary because blood pressure changes so quickly and is affected by manyfactors. The good news about high blood pressure is that for most people it canbe controlled by drugs and sometimes by changes in daily habits. The typeand severity of a patient's high blood pressure, as well as his or her othermedical problems, will determine which drug, or combination of drugs, isused. High blood pressure can lead to many serious conditions in older people,including stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure. You can reduce yourrisk of developing these problems by getting proper treatment if a bloodpressure test shows that you have high blood pressure. The Health Department reminds area residents that free blood pressurescreenings can be obtained at either of their office locations: Main Office,Rt. 78 South, Kewanee Monday through Friday during office hours 8:00am -4:00pm and our Colona Office,103 1st St., Colona on Tuesdays, Thursdays andFridays during office hours 8:00am-4:00pm. For more information, call the Health Department at 852-5272 (Main),792-4011 (Colona), or 852-3115 (Stark). You can also visit our website atwww.henrystarkhealth.com or find us on Facebook at Henry and Stark CountyHealth Departments.